The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1887-06-24
Disclosure of the Criminal Practices of
Many Indianapolis Butchers.
eased and Crippled Animals for the
Meat Supply of the Home Market.
How the Infamous Business Is Carried
on with Perfect Impunity.
Comparatively Little of the Foul Stuff Con-
demned-Discoverie that Demonstrate the
City's Need of Better Meat Inspection.

Unless ono has unlimited confidence in his
butcher, there is no telling what he will get in
the way of roasts and steaks. chops, legs of NUT
ton veal If he cannot detect good from bad
meat, the chances that portions of bruised,
and, perhaps, cancer-jawed steers will be fur
nished him. The meat supply of Indianapolis
comes to the consumer through looseness Of
inspection that is almost criminal The cattle,
hogs and sheep that reach here are handled by
commission men, and bought by Wholesale
butchers, regardless of condition, unless the ami
NAL is SO badly diseased or bruised that it
excite even butchers conscience. IL must be
in very miserable shape, though, to save its
meat from the market, fog it is charged that
hogs and sheep that could barely crawl have
been killed, sold the market and eaten by
happily ignorant purchasers
The crime begins at the s.ockyards extends
through the slaughtering houses and is COM
pleted by retail butchers A man who has had
years of experience in the cattle business con-
fessed that he knew wholesale butchers who
bought animals Unfortunately. 1--WE do not
get the best meats for home consumption" he
said THE grading and sitting out process be-
gins in the far Western yards. The best are
shipped to points further East where the grad
ing is again carried out, the worst and inferior
cattle being left At Indianapolis the same
rule applies, the best cattle being sent to Pitts
burg, where there is more grading. From that
point the best are sent to New York, and even
there the grading agair is made for the ship
ments to Liverpool The finest beef is selected
for export and New York gets only what is
called the tail of herds. that have been graded
from the time they left the Western point Of
shipment. It is, perhaps. no worse here than
at other points. but cattle that cannot be
ried any further are left in the yards at this
point"
''What becomes of these animalsa"
"Why, butchers who have conscience buy
them and commission men, who are Just as bad,
may hold them for few days, and send them
East When I was in the business bought
twenty six cancer-iawed steers that had been
purchased by several wholesale butchers of the
city. and sent them to New York. They were
killed and sold on the New York narkets"
'Is there any of that kind of m at in the In
dianapolis markets"
"Here and there expert might detect some
OF it, but it is impossible for anyone else to tell
whether the hog meat he purchases hsd the
cholera the sheep the rot and the steer a cancer
jaw Chop off the head Of the latter, and there
flesh. but it is there all the
same The skins of cholera hogs
sre spotted When the animal is killed that ia
removed possible. The flesh will not
indicate the disease. Butchers take all the
chances, and if they can manage to get the meat
into the market there is no trouble to get rid of
it. II the meat does not escape the inspector the
skins and hides sufficient to pay the butcher
for the risk. In the market such meat is mixed
with good and sold whenever the opportunity
offers"
"How do the butchers 60 about this nefarious
busipessl'
NJ $ha uho
butchers are at the stockyards. either In person
through commission men. / have seen any
number Of worn cattle and hogs many OF them
on the verge of disease. many diseased
and as many near death bought for q song. They
hurried off to out-of-the-way slaughter
houses and sometimes the butchers bold
enough to take them to the abattoir The ami
mails are killed at night, and before morning tho
meat is in the market house, mixed with meats
from fair to good. But at the market-house
only small part of this stuff reaches the con-
sumner. 1t is in small outside butcher-shops
where the most of it is sold. These shops
owned by wholesale butchers, whose employees
in charge the ostensble owners. What
meat is not sold to market men is sent to these
shops. and after market hours the meat left over
is sometimes carried to these shops. If the
meat was good wien it went to market, few
hours exposure to dirt and flies did it harm, SO
the purchaser buys what is really nothing better
than the refuse of the market"
1t may be asked where is the Board of Health
meat Inspector There is but one. and there ara
forty-seven places in different parts OF the city
away from the stockyards the wholesalers and
butchers buying what they can get taking
cattle, hogs and sheep as they come. When he
is at the yards the bad meats arc hid at the
abattoir, and when he is there the meats any
where from almost putrid flesh to sides of can
cer-jawea steers are on the way to the market.
If he starts to inspect outside slaug ter.
house. the willy butchers are dlsposing of cattle
slaughtered in the country towns. This one in
spector gets SIS per week and supplies himself
at his own expense with horse and buggy.
He is expected to guard the daily meat
supply of city of 100000 inhabitants and
the result of his work may be seen in the record
of condemned meats in the Office of the Board OF
Health. He went into Office in January, and
during that month came across 26l6 pounds OF
bad meat, which he had destroyed. He found
five sheep in the market. belonging to c. j. Gard
liner, and two cattle, owned by Jack Crosby. at
the abattoir. In February the inspector did as
we'll, for 2 2S0 pounds of hogs. sheep and cattle
were condemned; but in March the butchers
either knew his style of work or diminished the
output of bad meat, for only 800 pounds were
condemned. In April the showing S5d
pounds. but in May it was only 275. and in June.
SO far. 300 pounds.
The condemnations at market are not fire.
quent though it is reliably stated that frst-class
butchers do not go there to sell. I'VE did at
one time" said dealer of this kind, 'but we
found it impossible to compete with the cheap
meats that were sold there. The commission
mon and wholesale butchers stand together"
I'm what way is this done2"
.'Some wholesale buyers never go near the
yards If crippled hogs come in they may be
sent to what is called the hospital They disap-
pear and no one knows where they 60. But by
some means they are slaughtered and put
the markets. So 1t is with cattle and sheep.
The commission mon have their orders and fill
them. Aside from owning two-thirds of the
small outside shops the wholesale butchers i'm
pose the small grocers who cannot tell good
meat fran bad. It is sold to them cheap.
and they sell it from 8 to csDts
lower than the retailing butchers Another
thing that helps to spoil the sold in indian
apolis is the want OF conyeniences at the market
house. The butchers there have no means OK
keeping the meat cool. From the time it goes
into that hou.s until it is sold taken ont il 10
exposed heat dirt and flies These market
mon buy enough to meet the demand a
ket day and if it should happen that some liz left
over it is taken to small shops There IS a good
deal of killing of irerior beeves, sheer and hogs
in outside towns It is brought into the city at
night and disposed of without the inspector